November 1, 2022

I don’t know when Alan Rickman offered up these insights. But they echo a very strong resonance for these times. 

As an actor, he took his role as storyteller seriously. He once commented that the power of a story was directly related to the power of the storyteller. And he was a powerful storyteller. 

He knew that stories hold the seeds of insight and inspiration, ours to nurture in our lives and for our lives. Seeds sown and seeds planted, that we might be storytellers and story keepers, holding and sharing the stories we need to tell each other. And ourselves.

I have such a vivid memory of sitting at my grandmother’s dining room table when I was young. With tears welling up, I was dismantling the rubber fruit from the bowl placed as a centerpiece on her lace tablecloth. For some reason I especially remember the grapes. I was dismantling her fruit as she was trying to dismantle my dream of being an actress by telling me I just wasn’t pretty enough. Her admonishments caused tears, but they didn’t stick. Years later I would star as Pegora the Witch in a high school play of the same name. Seems rather prophetic as I look back. 

Perhaps more prophetic was nature of the roles I dreamed of playing. Anything by Julie Andrews was a favorite. But at the top of my list was Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker. I was absolutely carried away with the idea of bringing people out of darkness and into the light. Well, that’s how I can see it looking back with the clarity of hindsight. I seriously considered working at a school for the blind and even learned sign language, which did get me into trouble with my middle school science teacher when I taught enough of it to my best friend so I could give her the answers during a test. 

Prophetic. Now, almost sixty years later, I’m encouraging people to celebrate and manifest they Light they hold. I’m a storyteller. And many would very much consider me a witch. 

Seeds planted and seeds sown. How amazing is this unfolding narrative of life. Through the stories we tell to ourselves and each other, so much is possible.

Beannacht,
Judith